In today’s briefing: Ben & Jerry's is back in the news, the anniversary of the lynching that launched the ADL, the secret Jewish history of Robert De Niro and much more.

OUR LEAD STORY 🌍

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

How will Biden’s Afghanistan retreat affect Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Americans watched in horror Monday as Taliban forces prevented Afghans from fleeing the country amid chaos and deadly violence. Our senior political reporter, Jacob Kornbluh, looks at how Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan could affect other areas on the world stage.

Dov Zakheim, author of a book about the reconstruction of Afghanistan, said the situation would “reinforce the concerns” in “some parts of the Israeli establishment” that “there are limits to how much support the United States will give.”

Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said it was unlikely to change the trajectory of the Iran nuclear deal. “The politics, the security implications, and the time factor” of that agreement, Miller said, “have all been baked into the cake long before these events of the past week.” Read the story >

But wait, there’s more: Following the 9/11 attacks, journalist Larry Cohler-Esses spent 24 hours in Afghanistan accompanying a delegation of New York police officers and firefighters delivering humanitarian aid. Cohler-Esses, a former Forward reporter and editor, reflected on that trip as he watched the country fall. Read the story >

ALSO IN THE FORWARD 💻

IT TOOK WIKIPEDIA ONLY 60 SECONDS TO SCRAPE SWASTIKAS OFF JOHNNY DEPP'S PAGE. (GETTY IMAGES)

Wikipedia fixed its swastika problem fast. Why can’t anyone else?: At 9:52 a.m. on Monday, Johnny Depp’s Wikipedia entry had been turned into a giant Nazi flag. A minute later, it had reverted to the usual info about the actor’s roles in “21 Jump Street” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. “Nearly every social media company has been working to combat the spread of disinformation and hate speech,” writes our digital culture reporter Mira Fox. “The question remains, however, why no one else has been this successful.” Read the story >

The secret Jewish history of Robert De Niro: In honor of the actor’s 78th birthday today, we explore his affinity for playing Members of the Tribe on screen. “De Niro is the one-man embodiment of the cultural kinship between American Jews and Italians,” writes our Seth Rogovoy, “whose close-knit tribal and familial ties are often remarked on for their similarities.” Read the story >

6 THINGS AMERICAN JEWS ARE TALKING ABOUT 🍦

1. “Ben & Jerry’s: Clash of the Cones,” a new series on the Food Network, is, alas, not about the recent uproar over the ice cream company’s decision to stop selling its product in the occupied West Bank. Instead, it is a reality show in which six ice cream makers compete to create new and unusual flavors. It is hosted by Molly Yeh, a Forward contributor. (FN Dish)

2. Speaking of food, a chef in Los Angeles has created a pop-up deli called “The Bad Jew” whose main ingredient is, you guessed it, pork. “I think I’ve been provocative my whole life,” said the chef, Rebecca King. “And while I’m aware of how provocative it is, it was just meant to be silly and funny.” (JTA)

3. Major corporations “fail to protect” Jewish employees from rising antisemitism, according to a new report by the group Stop Antisemitism. Out of the 25 companies graded, 17 received Ds or Fs, including Unilever and Google; two, L'Oréal and American Eagle, got As. (Jewish Journal)

4. “Fleishman is in Trouble,” the extremely Jewish debut novel of Taffy Brodesser-Akner, is being turned into a limited series for Hulu and directors for multiple episodes have been chosen. In her review of the book, our Talya Zax called it “like Philip Roth, but feminist.” (Deadline)

5. The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center in Canada is calling for the removal of two longstanding memorials in the Edmonton area that many say honor Nazi collaborators. The request comes a week after a Belgium town renamed a Nazi memorial that was flagged as part of a Forward investigation documenting hundreds across the globe. (Edmonton Journal)

6. The Dino Park Experience that opened last week in Tel Aviv is reigniting a debate over the remains of the ancient dinosaurs found in Israel. Some researchers want them analyzed and displayed in a museum, others believe that the real museum is nature. (Haaretz)

What else we’re reading > Israel hits six-month high with more than 8,000 new daily COVID cases … Why Arnold Rothstein should be inducted into the Hall of Fame … 10 Jewish facts about ‘Jeopardy!’ host Mayim Bialik.

FROM OUR YIDDISH SECTION 👇

The “golden age” of Yiddish-speaking criminals:What remains from the era of Jewish mobsters and thieves is a fascinating collection of expressions, songs and stories that provide an intimate look at how Jewish society viewed its criminal element and how the outlaws saw themselves.Read the story >

Learn a bissel Yiddish! This month, the Forverts launched a Facebook group for our popular “Yiddish Word of the Day” series. To view the daily posts, Facebook users need only join the group.

PHOTO OF THE DAY 📸

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM

Israeli actor Lior Raz stands in Times Square looking at a billboard … of Israeli actor Lior Raz. He was in town to promote his new Netflix show “Hit & Run” whose action sequences didn’t impress our reviewer, PJ Grisar: “Raz’s fighting style is edging uncomfortably close to late-career Steven Seagal territory,” he wrote.

ON THE CALENDAR 🗓

THE FIRST DAY OF THE LEO FRANK TRIAL, 1915.

On this day in history: Leo Frank was lynched by a mob in Georgia on Aug. 17, 1915. Frank, a factory superintendent, was accused of murdering a 13-year-old employee, though historians generally believe he was innocent. The Frank lynching led to the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. The definitive book on the case is “And the Dead Shall Rise,” by Steve Oney. Also: Read about Frank’s tumultuous New York burial and the Forward’s look back at the case a century later.

It’s National Nonprofit Day, which means it’s the perfect time to donate to your favorite nonprofit Jewish newsroom to support the independent work that we do each day.

Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. ET: The last of our three “Israel Therapy” sessions will focus on the U.S.-Israel relationship. Our editor-in-chief, Jodi Rudoren, will be joined by Libby Lenkinski of the New Israel Fund; Ginna Green, co-host of our new podcast, "A Bintel Brief;" Noam Shuster-Eliassi, an Israeli comedian; and Rabbi Josh Weinberg of the Union for Reform Judaism. Click here to register.

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